CHAPTER 61

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A/N: Thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews on my last chapter. I'm glad to see that even though we're drawing to a close, you're all still with me.

This whole weekend I've had a ton of problems with my computer, the main cause of my lack in updating. Thankfully, most of those are solved now and I'm back online and can update again.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

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Roger rolled over onto his side when he heard the shrill ringing of the phone. He glanced back over his shoulder at Mimi, who was sleeping comfortably but somewhat propped up. He zoned out for a second, his eyes settling on the clock. 1 AM. Realizing that he needed to pick up the phone before Jaylynn or Luke woke up and also because it wouldn't answer itself, he reached his arm over and pressed the receiver against his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Did I wake you?" Mark's tried voice came over the line and Roger grinned.

"Nah. Kind of. I just got home from work a little while ago. So what's the news?"

"It's a girl. Seven pounds, four ounces. Twenty and a half inches long. Born at 12:47 AM this morning."

Roger could practically feel Mark smiling from the other end of the line. He glanced at the clock again. The baby had just been born about ten minutes before. "Congratulations. February 25th. Late birthday present, huh?"

"Yeah. At least it's not Thanksgiving."

"How's Jackie doing?" Roger thought back briefly to that Thanksgiving Day two years ago when Luke had been born by emergency c-section and how for a minute there, everyone had thought that Jackie wouldn't pull through. But she and Luke both did and everything worked out in the end, although it had been a major scare.

"She's doing great. Tired. How's Luke? Did he give you a hard time about going to sleep?"

"Nah. Mimi told me that both he and Jaylynn were out by nine. He kept asking about you and Jackie."

"I'll come by in the morning so I can take him back to the hospital to see her and his little sister."

"Okay." Roger yawned. "Did you guys settle on a name yet?"

"Not yet." Roger heard some commotion in the background and Mark temporarily covering the mouthpiece. "The pediatrician's here for the baby, so I have to go. I'll be at your place around seven, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Tell Jackie I said congratulations too."

"Okay I will."

By the time Roger had hung up with Mark, Mimi had woken up and was watching him silently. She let out a cough and Roger immediately turned around. "Hey."

"Hi," she whispered. She pulled her curly hair up into a messy bun and brought her knees to her chest. "Who was that on the phone?"

"It was Mark. Jackie had the baby about fifteen minutes ago."

Mimi smiled. "Aw, really? That's great."

Roger quickly filled her in on the baby's stats, wrapping his arms around Mimi's shoulders. "Mark said he'd stop by tomorrow to take Luke with him to the hospital."

"Okay. Jaylynn didn't wake up because of the phone, did she?" Mimi asked. "She always does."

Sure enough, just on cue, Jaylynn started crying in the next room over. "Mama!" she wailed pitifully.

Mimi stood up and pulled on her robe. "I guess I'll get her. I'll probably give her some juice and rock her for a few."

"Hurry back," Roger yawned again. He frowned when Mimi walked out of the room without saying anything in response like she usually did.

It had been a little over a month since Mimi's battle with pneumonia in mid January, and her health had barely gotten any better than what it had been when she was sick. Mimi was still coughing nonstop, and the main concerns now were her lungs. The doctors had told Roger last week that if Mimi's lungs didn't show any signs of improvement, she would be hospitalized temporarily so the fluid that had slowly been accumulating could be drained.

Every damn day it seemed to him that the cloud that had been hanging over their heads since that Christmas Eve was growing darker without any signs of clearing. Roger didn't even want to think about how much time Mimi had left, but every visit to the doctor pointed out another flaw in her health and dashed his hopes more than even he had thought possible. Everytime he looked at Mimi and Jaylynn, he wondered how many more days he would be able to seem them like that. Happy. Did Mimi even have a year left? Would she even live to see Jaylynn's third birthday? Or her own twenty-fourth birthday in June? What about their third wedding anniversary in May? Roger didn't understand why. He was so angry sometimes he was beside himself. Their time together was drawing to a close, and there was nothing he could do about it. The Mimi and Roger legacy was ending. Time was no longer an option.

About ten minutes later, he looked up as Mimi walked back into the room. She was carrying Jaylynn against her shoulder, and the toddler looked just about ready to fall asleep. Strands of her light brown hair had fallen into her face and she stretched her hand out to brush them away before resting her head back down on Mimi's shoulder.

"I think I'm just gonna let her sleep in here tonight." Mimi set Jaylynn down in the middle of the bed and tucked her underneath the covers. She automatically stuck her thumb in her mouth and closed her eyes.

"How do you feel?" Roger asked Mimi as they both got resettled underneath the sheets. He kissed Jaylynn on the cheek and ran his hand over his daughter's back.

"Besides the cough, okay. The medicine's not really helping me any."

"Yeah."

"Has my mother called me back?" Mimi asked him as she flipped onto her side to face him.

"Not that I know of, but I haven't checked the messages today. When did you call her?"

"A few days ago. I left a message with my Aunt Sofia. You know, in Argentina?" She's still there, I guess. I haven't heard from her in over a year." Mimi planted a kiss softly on Jaylynn's forehead. "I want to patch things up with her before it's too late."

"Can you just stop talking like that? You sound like death's about to fucking come knocking on the loft door in five minutes," Roger said bitterly. "It's really pissing me off."

"Excuse me for pissing you off then. Goodnight."

"Mimi, come on—" Roger tried to patch things up with her, but knew it was no use. He knew how Mimi's mood swings worked, and there would be no apologies tonight. Not until the morning, at least.

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Mark knocked lightly on the hospital room door and stuck his head in. "Ready to go?"

Jackie looked up at him from the baby she was holding and smiled. "Yup. They just discharged me when you were parking the car."

"Great." He sat down next to Jackie on the bed and kissed her forehead. "How's she doing?"

"Really well. She's perfect."

Mark grinned and let his baby daughter wrap her tiny hand around his finger. He remembered how scared he was three days ago when Jackie had gone into labor right before they both were about to go out to dinner. He had almost missed Luke's birth because he had been in Scarsdale for the day, and was determined to stay put until Jackie had the baby this time around. Hannah Grace Cohen had been born right before one AM on February 25th, five days after Mark's twenty-ninth birthday and two weeks after Jackie's own twenty-fifth. She had been one week overdue, but came out without any complications whatsoever. Weighing in at seven pounds and four ounces, Mark couldn't have been more proud when he had first held her. She was so small, with a head of light blonde, barely there hair. Mark didn't know if he and Jackie were planning on having any more kids after Luke and Hannah, but for now, all he knew was that there was one more person for him to love and care about. The idea of being a father was starting to set in all over again.

"Mark?" Jackie waved her free hand in front of his face and laughed. "Did I lose you there for a sec?"

"What?" He looked over and watched as Jackie placed Hannah into her carrier. "Sorry, I guess I zoned out."

"Over anything good?" Jackie stood up off the bed and sat down again in the mandatory wheelchair.

"Just thinking, about you, Luke, and Hannah. Jac, I think it might be time for us to try and get a bigger apartment. Or a house. Something."

She looked up at him as he started pushing her down the maternity ward hall and towards the elevators. "Mark, I don't know—I mean, I love it in the city. I don't really want to live in the suburbs. We could always try to a townhouse uptown."

"Yeah we could do that." He pushed her into the elevator as Jackie adjusted Hannah onto her lap. "I just wanted to run it by you and see what you thought."

"Well honestly…I don't know how you're going to react to this, but my dad and step mom are planning on moving out of their beach house in Sydney sometime next month and into another house a few minutes away. I talked to him yesterday and he's already planning on coming up here to see Hannah and Luke, but Mark—he offered to hand the house over to me. He knows how much I love it. It's beautiful. You've seen it. Right on the beach. Enough rooms and then some. Luke can have Shawn take him surfing when he gets old enough. Hannah could too. They could wake up in the morning and go right down to the beach. I want to buy it, Mark."

The elevator doors opened onto the parking deck and Mark pushed her slowly out towards Maureen's Acura. "I guess—I mean, it'll be a big move. Hannah would have to be a few months older before she can fly…we'd be leaving a lot of people behind. I don't know, Jac."

"Oh." Jackie got up out of the wheelchair and fastened three-day-old Hannah into her car seat. I guess." She passed to the passenger side and climbed in, while Mark started the engine and backed out of the parking space.

"I think we should just go for the townhouse. We can start looking this weekend maybe," he suggested. "So um, do you think you'll be ready for spring rehearsals?"

"I think so. I'm supposed to go to the gym with Harvey tomorrow for an hour for some conditioning with the rest of the dancers."

"Just don't overdo it. You just had a baby three days ago."

"Yeah I know. It's just something I need to do." Jackie answered him.

"I know."

Jackie turned around and smiled at the sleeping baby. "I wonder how much longer she'll be out for."

"She'll probably be hungry soon."

"Yeah."

Fifteen minutes later, Mark had parked Maureen's car in her usual space and he, Jackie, and the baby were heading up to their apartment. An equally enthusiastic Maureen and Luke greeted them.

"Hi!" Maureen squealed. "Oh let me see her! She's beautiful."

"And sleeping," Mark told her. "Let's try to keep it that way for a little while."

"Right."

Mark picked Luke up once Jackie had gotten the baby settled in its bassinet. "Were you good for Aunt Mo, buddy?"

"Yup. We played games."

"Cool."

"Can I go see Hann now?" Luke asked him.

"Hannah," Mark laughed.

"Hann-uh. Can I go see her? Please?"

Mark nodded. "She's sleeping, so you gotta be real quiet, okay?" Promise?"

"Yup."

Mark carried Luke into the baby's room, just as Jackie walked out of her and Mark's bedroom with Maureen.

"What's Harvey up to today?" Jackie asked her.

"He's at the gym right now and picking up some takeout for us later," Maureen answered. "Doing the bachelor thing for the day. Pretending he doesn't have a wife."

"Fun," Jackie laughed. "Just don't let him stray too far."

"Do I ever?" Maureen tucked a strand of curly hair behind her ear. "I forgot to tell you. Promise you won't say anything to Mark or Harvey?"

"I promise." Jackie grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and opened it. "What's up?"

"I think I might be pregnant," Maureen whispered quietly.

"Oh my god! Really?" Jackie squealed in return. She gave Maureen a tight hug. "Sweetie that's so great! Harvey mentioned something about trying for a baby sometime soon. I guess it worked."

"Yeah. I go to my doctor on Monday to find out for sure. I haven't taken a test yet and I don't really have the time lately because Harvey's always home lately. I was just hoping to find out at the office, you know?"

"Yeah. Oh wow. This is great news!"

Maureen smiled. "I'm so nervous."

"Don't be. Please, I already had two, and the most nervous person throughout the whole thing is always the father. Although since it's Mark…he's always worried about something," Jackie laughed. "But Harvey's pretty well kept together. He'll be excited, I know it."

"I can't wait to find out. I hope I am."

"Then find out and let me know! This is so great." Jackie looked over when she heard Hannah start crying in the other room. "I'll give you a call later tonight, okay? Thanks so much for watching Luke for us, but I really have to feed her. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks Jac."

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ONE WEEK LATER

EARLY MARCH 2000

Mimi sat up in bed and rested her hand on her chest. She didn't know what exactly had woken her up or why, but all she could feel right now was the pounding of her head and the tight, constricted feeling that had gathered in her chest. She glanced over at the clock and realized it was close to ten thirty. Roger wouldn't be home for another two hours at least. He was working the late shift at the bar again, for the third night in a row. Apparently they were suddenly shorthanded because a number of people had called out sick.

She shakily untangled herself from the sheets and walked into the kitchen as soon as she could. Hopefully a glass of water and some Advil would help her tonight. It had worked for previous nights. Now all she had to do was sit down on the couch and rest, watch some night tv, and hope Jaylynn would sleep through the night. She usually did.

About halfway through the Cosby show, Mimi noticed her vision blurring slightly. She dismissed it as her eyes just simply being tired, but started coughing immediately afterwards. Her glass had long been empty, so once again, she got up and made her way into the kitchen to refill it. The horrible, racking coughs started up again when she reached for the faucet and then—she couldn't catch her breath at all. Mimi started gasping for air in the living room, reaching out for anything to steady her balance with. When she couldn't find anything, she fell forward and collapsed to the floor, still coughing and clutching her chest.

"Mark…" she managed to croak out, hoping in some possibly way that he would be up at this hour with Hannah and hear her through the wall. He never came. She started choking and gasping, trying to catch her breath, but nothing helped. She was getting lightheaded, her vision blurring even more than before.

Somewhere in the background, Mimi heard Jaylynn start to fuss and let out a small cry. She couldn't get up off the ground—couldn't stop coughing—couldn't even move. She couldn't breathe.

It was slow motion—and then she blacked out, and her coughing ceased altogether.

The now shattered water glass lay inches away, fragments surrounding Mimi's dark curls in the dim apartment.

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Roger entered the loft around one AM from the bar. Yawning, he struggled to take off his leather jacket and boots at the same time. He couldn't wait to get into bed with Mimi and fall asleep. He didn't have to work tomorrow at all, so they could actually make plans to go out for once. They could even get a babysitter for Jaylynn and go out to dinner. They hadn't done that in awhile, and Roger figured they were way overdue for some alone time.

He turned the lights on and immediately made his way into the kitchen, a loud cracking noise emitting from underneath his foot. "Fuck," he cursed, reaching down and picking up the jagged glass fragment off his sock. Good thing he wasn't barefoot.

Roger bent his head and reached down, struggling to collect more pieces in the dark kitchen. The only light was coming from the single lamp in the living room. He managed to feel around for a few more pieces—his hands moving over the linoleum, and brushing against Mimi's curly hair. He jumped back and doubled over.

"Oh god. Mimi. Oh god. He leaned over to check and see if she was breathing. Barely. He couldn't really feel her breath moving over his cheek. "Fuck. Mark!" he shouted. "Mark! Goddamit! Somebody, help! Oh my god. Not yet. I'm not ready. No, Mimi. I said I'm not fucking ready!"

Mark had run into the loft, struggling to adjust his glasses on his face. "What the hell's going on?"

"It's Mimi. She's not breathing."

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